9.30.2004
Bush changes his mind more than his sayings
Kerry supporters know what Kerry belives, Bush supporters do not understand Bush
John Kerry wins first debate
John Kerry looks, sounds and acts like a President.
George Bush looks, sounds and acts incompetent.
-- Two thoughts that hopefully will get through to voters uncertain about where America should be in four years.
Kerry was on the mark with almost every response. The causal observer could see that Bush was straining to find the right thoughts, and then struggling to put those thoughts into words.
More Bushisms coined tonight: "mexed missages"
"It's hard to love a woman like that" -- talking about comforting the wife of a slain U.S. soldier.
My question: Will Kerry get votes from mothers who are scared by stressing that the world has gotten more dangerous because of Bush? Will more people pick up on the idea that Bush leads with fear ... not hope?
Watch the Presidential debate again
George Bush looks, sounds and acts incompetent.
-- Two thoughts that hopefully will get through to voters uncertain about where America should be in four years.
Kerry was on the mark with almost every response. The causal observer could see that Bush was straining to find the right thoughts, and then struggling to put those thoughts into words.
More Bushisms coined tonight: "mexed missages"
"It's hard to love a woman like that" -- talking about comforting the wife of a slain U.S. soldier.
My question: Will Kerry get votes from mothers who are scared by stressing that the world has gotten more dangerous because of Bush? Will more people pick up on the idea that Bush leads with fear ... not hope?
Watch the Presidential debate again
Review: Free Culture
Free Culture How Big Media Uses Technology and the Law to Lock Down Culture and Control Creativity by Lawrence Lessig
A highly entertaining look at the problem of copyright in the digital age. Lessig has crafted a powerhouse of an argument against the current system of ulimited copyright and the methods of copyright holders and Congress to deal with the issues of mp3 trading and other, new, digital means of expression.
His idea for registration and renewal requirements for copyright holders is one I support.
Reading his examples of how the RIAA has destroyed lives of people who have downloaded music should upset anyone who blindly thinks "downloading music is wrong."
Using over-reaching laws to attack and stifle creativity is wrong, too.
Your library doesn't have a copy? Download the whole book on his site. It's worth your time.
A highly entertaining look at the problem of copyright in the digital age. Lessig has crafted a powerhouse of an argument against the current system of ulimited copyright and the methods of copyright holders and Congress to deal with the issues of mp3 trading and other, new, digital means of expression.
His idea for registration and renewal requirements for copyright holders is one I support.
Reading his examples of how the RIAA has destroyed lives of people who have downloaded music should upset anyone who blindly thinks "downloading music is wrong."
Using over-reaching laws to attack and stifle creativity is wrong, too.
Your library doesn't have a copy? Download the whole book on his site. It's worth your time.
Waxy.org: Daily Log: Kleptones, "Night at the Hip-Hopera"
9.29.2004
Katamari Damacy
9.28.2004
Wired News: New Induce Act Alarms Foes
Forget paintball, I'm playing AT-AT
9.27.2004
Jimmy the cab driver
9.24.2004
MSNBC - It's About Abortion, Stupid
9.21.2004
TomPaine.com - Journalism Under Fire
TomPaine.com - Journalism Under Fire
Glad I got turned on to Bill Moyers before he retires, but sad he's leaving PBS behind only to be replaced by a Wall Street Journal show:
"Or on ideology. One of the biggest changes in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. How do we fathom and explain the mindset of violent exhibitionists and extremists who blow to smithereens hundreds of children and teachers of Middle School Number One in Beslan, Russia? Or the radical utopianism of martyrs who crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center? How do we explain the possibility that a close election in November could turn on several million good and decent citizens who believe in the Rapture Index? That’s what I said—the Rapture Index; Google it and you will understand why the best-selling books in America today are the 12 volumes of the "Left Behind" series that have earned multi-millions of dollars for their co-authors, who, earlier this year, completed a triumphant tour of the Bible Belt whose buckle holds in place George W. Bush’s armor of the Lord. These true believers subscribe to a fantastical theology concocted in the l9th century by a couple of immigrant preachers who took disparate passages from the Bible and wove them into a narrative millions of people believe to be literally true.
According to this narrative, Jesus will return to earth only when certain conditions are met: when Israel has been established as a state; when Israel then occupies the rest of its “biblical lands;” when the third temple has been rebuilt on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosques; and, then, when legions of the Antichrist attack Israel. This will trigger a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon during which all the Jews who have not converted will be burned. Then the Messiah returns to earth. The Rapture occurs once the big battle begins. True believers ”will be lifted out of their clothes and transported to heaven where, seated next to the right hand of God, they will watch their political and religious opponents suffer plagues of boils, sores, locusts and frogs during the several years of tribulation which follow."
One estimate puts these people at about 15 percent of the electorate. Most are likely to vote Republican; they are part of the core of George W. Bush’s base support. He knows who they are and what they want. When the president asked Ariel Sharon to pull his tanks out of Jenin in 2002, more than one hundred thousand angry Christian fundamentalists barraged the White House with e-mails, and Mr. Bush never mentioned the matter again. Not coincidentally, the administration recently put itself solidly behind Ariel Sharon’s expansions of settlements on the West Banks. In George Monbiot’s analysis, the president stands to lose fewer votes by encouraging Israeli expansion into the West Bank than he stands to lose by restraining it. “He would be mad to listen to these people, but he would also be mad not to.” No wonder Karl Rove walks around the West Wing whistling “Onward Christian Soldiers.” He knows how many votes he is likely to get from these pious folk who believe that the Rapture Index now stands at 144—just one point below the critical threshold at which point the prophecy is fulfilled, the whole thing blows, the sky is filled with floating naked bodies, and the true believers wind up at the right hand of God. With no regret for those left behind.
Glad I got turned on to Bill Moyers before he retires, but sad he's leaving PBS behind only to be replaced by a Wall Street Journal show:
"Or on ideology. One of the biggest changes in my lifetime is that the delusional is no longer marginal. How do we fathom and explain the mindset of violent exhibitionists and extremists who blow to smithereens hundreds of children and teachers of Middle School Number One in Beslan, Russia? Or the radical utopianism of martyrs who crash hijacked planes into the World Trade Center? How do we explain the possibility that a close election in November could turn on several million good and decent citizens who believe in the Rapture Index? That’s what I said—the Rapture Index; Google it and you will understand why the best-selling books in America today are the 12 volumes of the "Left Behind" series that have earned multi-millions of dollars for their co-authors, who, earlier this year, completed a triumphant tour of the Bible Belt whose buckle holds in place George W. Bush’s armor of the Lord. These true believers subscribe to a fantastical theology concocted in the l9th century by a couple of immigrant preachers who took disparate passages from the Bible and wove them into a narrative millions of people believe to be literally true.
According to this narrative, Jesus will return to earth only when certain conditions are met: when Israel has been established as a state; when Israel then occupies the rest of its “biblical lands;” when the third temple has been rebuilt on the site now occupied by the Dome of the Rock and Al Aqsa mosques; and, then, when legions of the Antichrist attack Israel. This will trigger a final showdown in the valley of Armageddon during which all the Jews who have not converted will be burned. Then the Messiah returns to earth. The Rapture occurs once the big battle begins. True believers ”will be lifted out of their clothes and transported to heaven where, seated next to the right hand of God, they will watch their political and religious opponents suffer plagues of boils, sores, locusts and frogs during the several years of tribulation which follow."
One estimate puts these people at about 15 percent of the electorate. Most are likely to vote Republican; they are part of the core of George W. Bush’s base support. He knows who they are and what they want. When the president asked Ariel Sharon to pull his tanks out of Jenin in 2002, more than one hundred thousand angry Christian fundamentalists barraged the White House with e-mails, and Mr. Bush never mentioned the matter again. Not coincidentally, the administration recently put itself solidly behind Ariel Sharon’s expansions of settlements on the West Banks. In George Monbiot’s analysis, the president stands to lose fewer votes by encouraging Israeli expansion into the West Bank than he stands to lose by restraining it. “He would be mad to listen to these people, but he would also be mad not to.” No wonder Karl Rove walks around the West Wing whistling “Onward Christian Soldiers.” He knows how many votes he is likely to get from these pious folk who believe that the Rapture Index now stands at 144—just one point below the critical threshold at which point the prophecy is fulfilled, the whole thing blows, the sky is filled with floating naked bodies, and the true believers wind up at the right hand of God. With no regret for those left behind.
9.19.2004
THE ANTI-BUSH VIDEO GAME
9.09.2004
The New York Times: A Digital Generation's Analog Chic
The New York Times > Technology > Circuits > A Digital Generation's Analog Chic
I've been wanting to do this for months. Next stupid idea that hits my brain ... I drop everything and do it. Damn you, Eugene Auh!
"I wanted the biggest cellphone I could find," said Mr. Auh, a 27-year-old investment manager in Philadelphia. His winning bid of $25.95 bought a Motorola DynaTac, a 1980's-era "brick" cellphone that fits more comfortably in a backpack than in a suit pocket.
"Imagine this: I'll walk into a bar and ask for a girl's number, then break out my phone," he said. "How could you say no to that?"
"This cellphone only stores nine numbers, ladies," he said, "so it's first come, first served."
I've been wanting to do this for months. Next stupid idea that hits my brain ... I drop everything and do it. Damn you, Eugene Auh!
"I wanted the biggest cellphone I could find," said Mr. Auh, a 27-year-old investment manager in Philadelphia. His winning bid of $25.95 bought a Motorola DynaTac, a 1980's-era "brick" cellphone that fits more comfortably in a backpack than in a suit pocket.
"Imagine this: I'll walk into a bar and ask for a girl's number, then break out my phone," he said. "How could you say no to that?"
"This cellphone only stores nine numbers, ladies," he said, "so it's first come, first served."
9.07.2004
Idea: Lakewood WiFi Project
So, The Soul of Capitalism got me thinking: Why are we paying for high-speed internet access? A good economy requires no less than 6 Mbps connectivity per citizen. (A number from thin-air that, no doubt, would need to be tripled once achieved.)
Why doesn't Lakewood begin towards this goal by providing WiFi from every public building -- school, fire house, police station. The city could invite private schools and businesses to participate, as well.
Potential:
Free phones (Skype)
Better media coverage (Oh-My-News for Lakewood)
Computer for every citizen
Easier to inform residents of any/all news
Requires:
A revenue stream would have to be decided upon. (Advertising? Rental of wifi gear, computers)
Is WiFi best? (Probably simplest to set up)
How to engage SBC and Cox to get them onboard?
Who provides backbone? Who pays?
So, let's see how many months go by until I do something about this.
Why doesn't Lakewood begin towards this goal by providing WiFi from every public building -- school, fire house, police station. The city could invite private schools and businesses to participate, as well.
Potential:
Free phones (Skype)
Better media coverage (Oh-My-News for Lakewood)
Computer for every citizen
Easier to inform residents of any/all news
Requires:
A revenue stream would have to be decided upon. (Advertising? Rental of wifi gear, computers)
Is WiFi best? (Probably simplest to set up)
How to engage SBC and Cox to get them onboard?
Who provides backbone? Who pays?
So, let's see how many months go by until I do something about this.
Review: The Soul of Capitalism
A wide-ranging look at small and large-scale attempts to "open a path to a moral economy." William Greider spends great time explaining the potential power of pension funds, employee-ownership, alternatives to GDP-obsession and the failure of government to realize they exist for people, not corporations.
Time and again, his story returns to Samuel Gompers reply to the question: What does labor want? "More."
Today, it's not more "stuff" or just more money. More life.
This was a long read for me, about a month. Many chapters hammer home the notion that most Americans are weak and powerless to affect the change necessary to live a fulfilling life without being shaped by careless corporations. Also, during an election year, it is discomforting to read of abuses of power from politicians firmly in corporate control.
Yet, a liberating read on how, slowly but surely, the rugged American individual is reshaping capitalism to include morality.
Finally, it was encouraging to read about Ohio-based initiatives, such as the Ohio Employee Ownership Center run by John Logue and the Capital Ownership Group. Go, Kent State, go!
Time and again, his story returns to Samuel Gompers reply to the question: What does labor want? "More."
Today, it's not more "stuff" or just more money. More life.
This was a long read for me, about a month. Many chapters hammer home the notion that most Americans are weak and powerless to affect the change necessary to live a fulfilling life without being shaped by careless corporations. Also, during an election year, it is discomforting to read of abuses of power from politicians firmly in corporate control.
Yet, a liberating read on how, slowly but surely, the rugged American individual is reshaping capitalism to include morality.
Finally, it was encouraging to read about Ohio-based initiatives, such as the Ohio Employee Ownership Center run by John Logue and the Capital Ownership Group. Go, Kent State, go!
